Once Upon the Broken
by Tearsofanelvenrose
Summary: Dianne Hazen was a daughter born into a large, prominent, family, all with an affinity for Pokémon. Her world however crashed around her, forcing her to Johto. Now change is pushing her from her longstanding home to the Unova Region. There she must build herself up and become the trainer and heroine she always dreamed of being. But what allies, enemies, and answers lie in Unova?


Prologue

* * *

"Anne, don't go near the tall grass alone!"

A small girl glanced back, her large brown eyes wide in surprise at hearing her name. She blinked, tipping her head at the figures rushing towards her. The first was that of a taller, older girl, dressed in a pale green sundress, long brown hair braided back under a large sunhat, as she was all but tripping over her sunflora sandals in her hurry. The second figure was a large orange furred pokemon, his large gait surpassing that of the small human next to him, amber eyes glinting with some form of amused disapproval as he trotted up to the small form.

"Hi, Archie!" The little girl greeted fondly, hugging one of his giant paws. "Watcha doing all the way out here?"

"We came," The older girl huffed, as she caught up. "To find you! What are you doing out here by yourself?! How many times have we told you it's dangerous to go near—"

"Shhh!" The smaller girl pressed a finger over her lips. "You'll scare them away!" Her voice was soft, but urgent, as she turned back to the tall grass.

The older girl, though irritated at being shushed, found her curiosity peeked. She peered over the grass, squinting as she searched for the source of interest. She heard it first. It was a light sound, like an airy humming, broken and cheery. The smaller girl pulled back a small handful of tall grass pulling it back like a curtain. Just inside the barrier was a small pack of little Totodile. They were gathering up berries, munching on one or two, then trading with the other pokemon to taste different ones. They seemed upbeat, as they hummed their bizarre little chant.

"Wow…" The older girl blinked in surprise. Then sense overcame her. "Anne, those are wild Totodile—and really young by the look of them. One of those would be able to break your arm just by playing with you! Imagine if you scared them and they all attacked, or their parents came protect them!"

"That's why I'm being quiet," The smaller girl scowled at her noisiness. "Pol taught me how."

"Well Pol's not here, _I_ am." The elder girl put her hands on her hips. "And Momma's not going to be happy when she—"

"And what are you girls whispering about?" A gentle voice called.

The two glanced up to see a woman strolling up. She looked a great deal like the older girl, long brown hair pulled back, glittering green eyes and an elegant gait. She glanced down at them, smile soft.

"Momma," The smaller girl whispered. "Don't scare the Totodile!"

The woman bent down to join her girls on the ground, peering into the grass with them. Her pale pink lips pulled into a bemused smile. "Anne, did you find them?"

"I'm sorry, Momma!" The elder girl whispered earnestly. "I tried to tell her not to go near the grass!"

"But I wanted to see the totodile," The smaller girl complained. "You and Don were too busy, so I came to see them myself."

"Anne," Her mother corrected gently. "Next time you want to see some wild pokemon, tell us, and take Archie or Sam."

"_What_?!" The older girl hissed. "Momma—"Her protest was staved off by a quick sharp look from her mother.

"Yes Ma'am," Anne nodded, leaning against the large Arcanine. "I will…" She looked back over at the small gathering of totodile, which remained oblivious to the girls and their mother.

"Momma," The younger spoke up. "When I'm older, I want a totodile."

"You have to live in the Johto region for him to be a starter," Her sister interjected. "But we're in Kanto, so you can pick from Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur."

"Yeah," The little girl scowled. "But You, Pol, and Don already have one of each…I want to train a totodile." She looked over at the little blue pokemon. "Maybe I could travel Johto instead of Kanto."

"Right," The older girl rolled her eyes. "And I'll tour Unova."

"Flora," Her mother sighed. "Be nice. Anne, you may just have to catch your own totodile when you become a trainer."

"Yeah," The little girl sighed. "Why do I have to wait so long?"

"Because," Flora announced bossily. "You have to be ten by law here. In Unova, you have to be even older!"

"But Pol was nine…"

"Your brother was a special case," Her mother smiled, rubbing her head. "He's driven to become the best trainer there is."

"And I'm going to be the second best!" the girl added brightly. "And we're going to train legendary pokemon too! That's how good we're gonna be!"

"Dream on," Flora rolled her eyes. "You have to super talented."

"Flora." Her mother scowled. "What if someone tells you that your dream to become a Poke Stylist is silly?"

"I'll just ignore them," The older girl shrugged. "They'll be sorry they were so stupid."

"Flora your sister's dream is just as important as yours." She looked down at her younger daughter. "Anne you go out and be the greatest pokemon trainer you can. Maybe someday you'll even be better than—" Her mother halted, looking up. The totodile had scattered, whimpering in fear and trepidation. Next to them, the Arcanine growled, low and dangerous.

"Momma—" Flora looked up, fearfully.

The woman rose, green eyes wide. "Get on Archie."

"What?" The smaller girl blinked. "Why?"

"Just do it!" The woman snapped.

Flora scrambled to her feet, pulling her sister up with her. The Arcanine bent down, allowing the two girls to clamber gracelessly onto his back. As they rose in the air, they caught their first glimpse of danger. Something was moving in the grass.

"Momma?" Flora was shaking. "Momma, what is it?"

"Archie take them straight to the house," the woman ignored the question. "I'll be right behind you." She reached into her pocket, extracting a single pokeball. "Girls whatever you do, don't look back."

"Yes Ma'am," Flora was shaking, her voice echoing the trembling in her hands. The smaller girl blinked, not understanding.

"Good." She nodded. "Now, _go!_"

The Arcanine leapt into the air, spirting the two away in a bound. The younger girl looked back at her mother, confused by the sudden turn in moods. Then her big brown eyes widened as she saw the giant form of an Arbok slam teeth first into her mother. There was a scream that hit her ears like a siren, as her mother's form crumpled under the attacking pokemon. Beyond, another form stood, staring at the woman's fall.

"_Momma!_" She screamed, trying to climb off the Arcanine's back. Archie, however would have none of it, bucking her back into place, as her sister clutched her in a vice grip.

"_No_!" She wrestled. "No, Flo, Momma's _hurt_!" She shrieked. "_Momma!_"

Flora pulled her sister closer, forcing her to lose sight of the fading Arbok and dying form of her mother. Tears glinted in her green eyes as the screams faded and the girls rocketed towards the stately mansion.

Hours later the little girl sat alone, clutching a stuffed Charmander as she cried quietly. Around her, people were moving to investigate every inch of their home and grounds, speaking to the adults and older children. Flora was giving them the details of what happened while she bounced the their baby brother to sleep, their blonde headed toddler sister clinging to her dress for support. The household pokemon were in a frenzy as their trainers and owners were rushing madly about. Archie joined a squad of officers and their Arcanine in a hunt that the little girl didn't understand.

A lone pokemon noticed her, slinking over to join her. He rubbed his furry head against her arm, forcing her to look up. "Sam…" She dropped the doll, and pulled the Sentret into a shaky hug. "Why's Momma gone Sam?" She whimpered. "Why isn't she coming home from the Hospital?" The pokemon didn't try to comfort her. Instead, he leaned on her shoulder, hugging her, and cried with her.

"Oh Anne…" An older man sighed, shuffling up in his white lab coat. She looked up at him, her round cheeks stained red, eyes large and swollen. "I'm so sorry…."

"Professor Oak," She sniffed. "Why won't anyone tell me anything? I know Momma's been hurt really bad, but she has to get better, right? She can't live in the hospital."

The professor dropped to sit next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "She's not going to Anne…She's gone to Heaven."

"But _why?_!" She cried. "Does—" She stopped short, brown eyes widening in understanding. "Does that mean Momma's _dead_? Only dead people go to Heaven!"

The older man gave her a sad nod. "Yes, I'm afraid so…"

"But I don't want her to be!" The little girl argued. "I don't want her to be dead!" She burst into tears, trembling as she clung to the still crying Sentret.

"I know," The Professor sighed. "I know…" He looked away, as if remembering something unpleasant. "Your Aunt is coming over—said she'd be up within the hour…" The little girl didn't respond, instead turning back to hug Sam. "Your brother too."

She looked up sharply. "Pol's coming home?" He nodded. She relaxed a little, burying her face back into Sam's fur. "It'll be okay…As long as Pol's here, it'll be okay…"

The old man got up, called up to her father's office, leaving her again to herself. However, she wasn't alone for very long. A small Totodile scampered up to her, a berry in its jaw. He gave her a sad, understanding look as he dropped the berry in front of her.

"Dile." He grunted. She blinked at him, confused. He pushed the berry towards her earnestly. "Dile."

She reached out slowly, her eyes flicking to the little pokemon warily. She'd seen her mother attacked by an Arbok, and it left her afraid of the wild pokemon. However, it didn't move, other than to nod encouragingly at her. Gingerly, she took it, and pulled the blue berry into her lap.

"Toto." The pokemon shook his head, and pointed to his jaws.

"Okay…" She mumbled, taking a small bite. It was dry, though deliciously spicy laced in sour aftertaste. "Thank you…" She mumbled.

It shook it's head stubbornly, pointing at its mouth again. She took another bite, earning a small smile and nod of approval. The little girl frowned.

"You want me to eat all of it?" A nod. "But I'm not really hungry…"

"Dile." It gave her a stern look.

"Okay…" She sighed, shoving the rest in her mouth. It took her some time to work through the rest of the berry, but as soon as she had finished, the Totodile seemed pleased. It paused, crossing the gap and laying a small hand on her arm.

Then it looked up, turned, and darted back out into the wilds. A moment later, a hand rested on her shoulder. Looking up, the little girl recognized her aunt, who was staring out after the Totodile's escape route with her bright green eyes.

"A wild Totodile?" The woman asked, her shadow brown willow hair falling over her shoulders as she looked down.

The girl nodded. "I think he was trying to cheer me up…"

"I can imagine," Her aunt nodded. "How are you holding up, Anne?"

The little girl looked away. "Momma's dead…"

"I know," Her Aunt whispered. "Anne, I'm so sorry, sweetheart,"

"Everyone is," She huffed unhappily. "Everyone is so sorry…But it doesn't help."

"I—" The woman caught herself. "I know, sweetheart…I just wish…I wish I could do something to make this better…even a little."

The little girl frowned at her. "You're an adult; you can do anything."

Her aunt shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "Anne I would give anything to make things right…but there are things that not even grown-ups can do."

Anne looked back down at the Sentret sniffling in her arms. "Why'd the Arbok do attack Momma?" She wondered. "I thought pokemon only attacked if they felt threatened, and Momma didn't threaten it…" Tears again flowed down the little girl's face. "Pokemon like Momma…"

"We don't know," Her aunt pulled the small child into her arms. "The police and detectives are trying to figure out what happened, and find the Arbok. Until then, you kids are to stay inside with pokemon and grown-ups to protect you."

"Pol's coming home, right?" She asked looking up. "If Pol's here it'll be okay… He'll get that Arbok."

"Of course honey," Her aunt stroked her hair. "Your brother is an excellent trainer…"

"And I'm gonna be one too," She added vehemently. "Momma told me to become the greatest trainer I could be...so that's what I'm gonna do." Anne closed her big brown eyes, hugging Sam tighter in determination. "I'm gonna be the greatest…"


End file.
